Ever since Maryland announced it was leaving the ACC for the Big Ten, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has been vocal in his displeasure of the Terrapins’ decision to leave.

But the latest layer of this onion is that Coach K told Washington D.C. radio station ESPN 980 that the only way his team will ever play Maryland again is if the Blue Devils are scheduled to face the Terps in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

“Well, that would be the only way it would be done, because we won’t schedule Maryland,” Krzyzewski said Wednesday on ESPN 980. “And there’s nothing to that, just that it doesn’t work out for us to do that. That’s the only way it would happen, if they continue the Big Ten-ACC.”

Krzyzewski mentioned that the reason they won’t schedule Maryland is because when it schedules nonconference games, it’s typically looking to schedule national teams outside of its conference area. With Maryland being so close, it gets the thanks-for-playing treatment.

No matter what Coach K might say, one can surmise there is something to the snub. How many times has Duke scheduled Georgetown in nonconference play since 2006? Try four. And Georgetown is 10 miles from College Park. Maybe Krzyzewski has changed his mind on nonconference scheduling since the team’s last meeting vs. the Hoyas in 2010. That’s entirely possible.

But then there’s this: Remember Coach K’s comments following the Blue Devils’ final game at the Comcast Center last February?

“I have a great deal of respect for Maryland," Coach K told reporters. He paused briefly, then added: “If it was such a rivalry, they’d still be in the ACC. Obviously they don’t think it’s that important, or they wouldn’t be in the Big Ten."

Maryland will make out financially well as part of the Big Ten, but it lost a significant part of its tradition in losing the ability to schedule games against Duke on its own terms.